NewAir Humidor

Started by CW Piperman, 06/30/2019 03:11 PM

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CW Piperman

Hi all,

I'm thinking of purchasing a NewAir,  either the NewAir 250 Count with OptiTemp (the "H" model), or the NewAir 400 count with OptiTemp. I know that in no universe am I going to get all those sticks in there, but I mostly collect singles (just starting out), have no boxes, and I'm leaning towards the 250 (CC-100H).

What experience do you have with them (it won't be my last humidor, but my temps need better regulation than I can do in my Pelidor in this climate) (Pelican case with Cedar Trays).

The problem is, they're not even in stock on NewAir's own website. Anyone know if there's a snafu somewhere?

Thanks!

CW
"It's a dangerous business, Frodo, going out your door. You step onto the road, and if you don't keep your feet, there's no knowing where you might be swept off to" --J.R.R. Tolkein, #Bilbo #LOTR #TFOTR

Humidor: http://www.cigargeeks.com/index.php?action=humidors;area=public;member=CW+Piperman

Cigary

#1

NewAir along with Whynter 251S are very popular...they both work great and it's all about pricing.  I bought 2 of the Whynters...wife bought me one for my B'Day to which she bought off Home Depot for $290...it went on sale 2 weeks later for $230 and she got a refund for the difference that I saw and told her...then I saw a deal with Amazon where they had them on sale for $260 and they gave you a $60 credit if you bought it with a Amazon CC plus another 5% off...total was $220 out the door ( taxes included ).  I love mine....they work so well and hardly any maintenance and I'd buy a 3rd one when they go on sale....you just gotta be vigilant and keep checking ...Google every week as a lot Vendors put em up with really good sales...Amazon, Home Depot, Lowes, Best Buy, BedBathBeyond with their 20% coupons....etc.

 Each one holds around 400 cigars.....you can't even buy a nice 200 count wood humidor for what I paid for the 2 Whynters.....that transfer of cedar to my cigars is great.....RH is spot on at 65% because I used Boveda seasoning and then keep the 65% packets inside as well...there is one small catch with these ....the very top of the cabinet tends to want to keep RH higher because the fan will blow air right on them which tends to raise the RH....so leave that top shelf empty and put the water reservoir up there instead ( distilled water ) and the rest of the cabinet will stay locked at 65%.


CW Piperman

Well, since the weather isn't getting any more cooperative, I went with the NewAir CC-300H....yessss.....I went bigger....I know that I'll wind up filling up the smaller one anyway, so why not....I guess.....:)

I'm thinking of seasoning it by placing a couple of bowls of distilled water with clean sponges inside and letting it sit for a few days....then humidifying using Boveda packs at 65% (my pelidor is at 69% but I'm paranoid about mold)

Question: Should the cedar shelving and boxes be wiped down with distilled water? I did that with the cedar trays in my Pelidor, and with the Cedar Boveda holder.

Also, would you think I should mount Boveda holders in the NewAir, or just throw in Boveda packs. This thing is rated at a fanciful 400 cigars (probably won't store near that many), so ostensibly for one/25 cigars the humidor COULD hold, that's 16 Boveda packs.  Sounds like an awful lot, but if that's it, that's it. I do have a SensorPush Hygrometer that I am going to put in on the top shelf, and purchasing one for the bottom shelf as well...should give me a good average reading...don't think I need another on the middle shelf at this point.

Anything I'm forgetting? I'm still a little bit iffy on the toxicity of nano-silver, so I'm forgoing that at the moment.

Thanks!

CW
"It's a dangerous business, Frodo, going out your door. You step onto the road, and if you don't keep your feet, there's no knowing where you might be swept off to" --J.R.R. Tolkein, #Bilbo #LOTR #TFOTR

Humidor: http://www.cigargeeks.com/index.php?action=humidors;area=public;member=CW+Piperman

Cigary

In my Whynter I "lightly" seasoned the cedar with DW....then let it sit for a few days and then according to the directions filled the container that came with it...filled that to 3/4 with DW and let it sit inside.  I used a 84% Boveda Seasoning packet for about 4 days and once my numbers inside hit around 80%RH I knew my unit was good.  I have strategically placed 65% Bovedas inside my Whynters....( have 3 of them now ) and they keep everything at 65% and the very top part of the units tend to want to be a little lower only because that is where the fan is blowing air and tends to suck up and lower the RH....very common in these types of units so I'll just throw in 2 Bovedas at the very top or Kitty Litter.  No worries if the Bovedas touch anything....they are sealed and I've never had an issue with leaks since using them for 4 years.

CW Piperman

Update: Was having trouble getting my NewAir over 70% with Bovedas, so I switched to sponges (2 LARGE sponges on flat plates) soaked with DW. Still didn't do what I'd hoped, then I realized when I had to turn my unit OFF during a thunderstorm, and my humidity went up to 90% and stayed there, that having the unit on during seasoning was dropping the RH and defeating me. Since then, I've had it at 90% with sponges for about 5 days.....would you say I'm good to go? I'm waiting for a shipment of 3 XL Heartfelt Bead Filled tubes to be delivered tomorrow....65%. Planning to put in all 3 (a bit more than I need for the 2.6 cu in of the NewAir, but the more the merrier.......

CW
"It's a dangerous business, Frodo, going out your door. You step onto the road, and if you don't keep your feet, there's no knowing where you might be swept off to" --J.R.R. Tolkein, #Bilbo #LOTR #TFOTR

Humidor: http://www.cigargeeks.com/index.php?action=humidors;area=public;member=CW+Piperman

c9belayer

Hygrometers only measure AIR humidity, not the humidity in the wood of your humidor. After all you've done with sponges and thunderstorms, i'd put the 70% Bovedas back in, add the beads when you get them, and wait a month for things to REALLY stabilize. Seriously. It took that wood - when it was harvested - a year to dry out each 1" of thickness. Re-misting it for 5 days ain't going to magically increase moisture density across it's entire thickness. It's take months to get back up to 65-70% humidity (depending on how thick it is). Seriously. Take your time. Relax! What's your rush? This is the key to success no one wants to admit because they got a new toy and want to play with it right now!

Additionally, remember, the hygrometers used in all humidors is only good to +/-2% humidity. It's a huge lie when these things report with decimal places! Ah... marketing... So relax! Don't sweat it. Be patient! Throw the Bovedas and beads in there and fahgeddabouddit! For a month. You'll be fine.

-- c9belayer

CW Piperman

My only rush is that my Pelican case (Pelidor) is humidified fine by Bovedas, but I can't control the temp inside it. Even the coolest part of our house hits 85F on summer days....my cigars have been frozen at -15F for 117 hours so I'm not afraid of beetles, but that's pretty warm. The only cool place in the house is the NewAir. (Night temps are about 65, days about 85 on the average this time of year. The pelidor will get that high during the day.

CW
"It's a dangerous business, Frodo, going out your door. You step onto the road, and if you don't keep your feet, there's no knowing where you might be swept off to" --J.R.R. Tolkein, #Bilbo #LOTR #TFOTR

Humidor: http://www.cigargeeks.com/index.php?action=humidors;area=public;member=CW+Piperman

Cigary

Listen to
c9belayer.....good advice and accurate.  Patience, grasshopper!!

CW Piperman

Thanks for the advice, well spoken.

I'm happy to go with your advice, and I have no problem seasoning for a month if that's the best practice. So, I'm wondering, what can I do to mitigate the effect of diurnal temp swings from 65 to 85F on my (admittedly small (50)) but expensive cigar collection? As I noted above, they've been frozen very cold for very long, so I THINK I'm safe from most beetles....though never say never..LOL

Thanks again....oh, and the beads are 65%. Shall I leave the sponges in, or pull them and go with the 65% beads and bovedas for the month?

CW(Seasoning for  1 month).
"It's a dangerous business, Frodo, going out your door. You step onto the road, and if you don't keep your feet, there's no knowing where you might be swept off to" --J.R.R. Tolkein, #Bilbo #LOTR #TFOTR

Humidor: http://www.cigargeeks.com/index.php?action=humidors;area=public;member=CW+Piperman


   
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